A South London primary school where pupils have logged nearly 7,000 acts of social action, from tackling gang violence to helping families facing homelessness, has been named the UK’s Social Impact School of the Year.
Nightingale Primary in Woolwich received the national award from SuperKind, a not-for-profit organisation that supports schools to embed social action into the curriculum.
More than 90,000 children from schools across the UK have taken part in the scheme, recording over 315,000 actions ranging from campaigning for better housing to supporting care home residents.
Two hundred and thirteen schools across the country earned the award with 13 regional winners and winners in early years, primary, secondary, all-through settings, independent schools, state schools, and alternative education also announced.
Participation in the award scheme has had a positive impact on students with 90% of participants saying they feel empowered to change issues that they care about, compared to just 52% nationally.
With 227 pupils, Nightingale Primary stood out after its children carried out almost 7,000 individual social actions in a single year, an average of around 30 per pupil.
The school sits in an area of London facing significant deprivation where issues such as poor housing, gang crime, poverty and domestic violence are faced by residents.
Yet teachers and pupils have worked together to address those challenges through practical projects designed and led by the children themselves.
Recent initiatives include young students setting up a pupil initiated jumper swap in the playground to reduce the cost of new uniforms, and organising rucksack packs of essentials for people sleeping rough at Christmas.
Child welfare officer at Nightingale Primary, Lisa Risby, said: “Like all schools we face real issues and work with our children and other external agencies to make change. The pupils are resilient and want to make their community a better place.
“To counter rising uniform costs, the students recently organised a jumper swap. This all happened in the playground just before we broke up for summer and the staff had no idea it was going to happen, it was initiated and run by our pupil parliament. Each year group wears a different colour jumper, Year 6 pupils handed down to year 5, year 5 to year 4 and so on. The result was parents wouldn’t have to buy new jumpers for the next academic year, saving them money. It shows how by embedding social action into our school curriculum, the children are empowered to make life better for those around them. Families also donate pre loved jumpers throughout the year which are washed, cleaned and stored for younger year groups.
“Housing in the borough is a massive problem for us. At any one time we can have around six families living in temporary accommodation – they’re often moved over an hour away from school. Parents choose to keep their children in our school because we offer them stability. We also have families living in multi-let properties where the whole family is living in just one room and in flats without any outside space.
“The children talk openly about their struggles with living conditions and emotionally support one another. When families move to new accommodation, other parents donate clothes, furniture and food to support them.”
Academic achievement in the school exceeds the national average with children performing well across reading, writing and maths, science and grammar, punctuation and spelling.
Lisa continues: “We’re really proud to be named as the overall winner of the SuperKind Social Impact Schools Awards. Engaging with SuperKind has been so easy. Recording actions is straight forward and has helped us appreciate and celebrate what is being done in school.”
SuperKind, a UK non-profit, is a one-stop-shop for social action including resources and a platform that allows teachers to easily bring social action into their classrooms in a meaningful way. More than 1,000 schools have taken part since the awards launched in 2023.
Resources include assembly packs and lesson plans to encourage social actions which are recorded throughout the year.
Founder Keren Mitchell said: “We’re really passionate about encouraging schools to integrate social action into their curriculum, it’s an incredible way to teach the next generation the importance of making a difference.
“The social actions the schools carry out are incredible and not only do they foster change in the communities the children live in, they also give the children a sense of pride and belonging. Doing good can boost self esteem and confidence – all important attributes – and will encourage this generation to become more empathetic and understanding of the needs of others.
“We want schools to be able to encourage children to see themselves as changemakers, no matter their age. By giving them the tools, support, and confidence to take action, we can help them realise that their voices can have a real, lasting impact on the world around them.”
Keren continued: “We want to wish a massive congratulations to Nightingale Primary School, our regional winners and all the schools who earned the award.
“It’s been a great year and we’re looking forward to welcoming more schools to the programme at the start of the new academic year. We can’t wait to see what social actions next year’s young changemakers will bring to life.”
